Girls’ Achievement in Mathematics In The Upper Primary Schools Of Addis Ababa
Abstract
This study was designed to make a comprehensive comparative analysis about mathematics achievement for girls and boys at upper primary education level. It was also aimed at investigating the extent of association between girls’ mathematics achievement and school ownership, and probing into existing gender stereotypes among the minds of school children. To this end, the study has employed both objective and subjective data gathering instruments. The instruments were applied to 309 boys and 302 girls drawn from 10 schools (five schools each from government and non-government) on the basis of diversified sampling techniques. The results of data analyses revealed that mathematics achievement was strongly associated with student gender and girls’ achievement was significantly lower than that of boys. However, girls’ mathematics performance did not show significant difference in government and non-government schools.
Further, it was evident that traditional stereotypes, which favour male dominance in mathematical ability, were still prevalent at modest level in the schools studied.
Thus, a concerted effort by teachers, parents, relevant agencies, and the Government is required to ameliorate the prevailing gender gap in mathematics achievement.
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References
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UNICEF/MOE.
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UNICEF
Assefa Beyene (1992) Female Participation and Performance in Rural Primary
Schools of Ethiopia, Unpublished Research Report, ICDR, Addis
Ababa.
Bedru Kedir and Tilaye Kassahun (2001) Girls’ Achievement in Science Subjects in
the Second Cycle Primary Education in Addis Ababa, Unpublished
Research Report, Addis Ababa Education Bureau, Addis Ababa.
Berelson, B. (1969) Beyond family Planning, Studies in Family Planning, 38(1).
Brimer, M.A, and L. Pauli(1971) Wastage in Education, Switzerland: UNESCO,
IBE.
Cammish, N.K., and C. Brock (1994) State, Status and the Status quo: Factors
Affecting the Education of Girls, International Journal of Educational
Development, 14(3).
FAWE (1997). Female Education in Mathematics and Science in Africa,
Unpublished Research Report, Nairobi.
Fennema, E. (1974). Mathematics Learning and the Sexes: A Review. Journal for
Research in Mathematics Education, 5(3).
Fennema, E. and J. Sherman (1974). Sex Differences in Mathematics Learning,
Why? The Elementary School Journal, 75(6).
_____(1976). Sex-Related Differences in Mathematics Learning: Myths, Realities,
and Related Factors, a Paper Presented to the Annual Meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science.
_____ (1977). Sex-related Differences in Mathematics Achievement, Spatial
Visualization and Effective Factors, American Educational Research
Journal, 14(7).
_____ (1978). Sex-related Differences in Mathematics Achievement and Related
Factors, A Further Study Journal for Research in Mathematics
Education, 9(4).
Fox, L.H (1981) The Problem of Women and Mathematics, New York: Ford
Foundation.
Fuller, B. (1987). Raising School Quality in Developing Countries: What
Investments boost Learning? Review of Educational Research,
57(3).
Genet Zewdie (1991). Women in Primary and Secondary Education, Gender
Issues in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa: IES.
Harding, J. (1979). Sex Differences in Performance in Examination at 16+, Physics
Education, 14(5).
Hilton, T. L. and G. W. Berglund (1974). Sex Differences in Mathematics
Achievement, a Longitudinal Study, The Journal of Educational
Research, 67(3)
Hyde, K.A.L. (1989). Improving Women’s Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, A
Review of the Literature, Washington, D. C.: the World Bank.
Jacobson, E. (1985). Reducing Differences of Mathematical Expectations between
Boys and Girls, in R. Morris (ed.) Studies in Mathematics Education:
The Education of Secondary School Teachers of Mathematics, Paris:
UNESCO.
Kelly, A (1985). The Construction of Masculine Science, British Journal of
Sociology of Education, 6 (2).
Keynes, H.B.(1989). Recruiting Girls for a More Successful Equation, Project report,
University of Minnesota Institute of Technology, Spring.
Kingdon, G.G. (2002). The Gender Gap in Educational Attainment in India: How
much can be Explained? The Journal of Development Studies,
39(2): 25-53.
Loudet-Verdier, J., and N. Mosconi (1995). Interaction between Teachers and
Students (girls or boys) in Mathematics Classes, in R. Clair (ed.) The
Scientific Education of Girls: Education beyond Reproach? Paris:
UNESCO.
Maccoby, E. E., and E. N. Jacklin (1974). The Psychology of Sex Differences,
Stanford: Stanford University Press.
MOE (1999). Indicators of the Ethiopian Education System, Addis Ababa: Ministry
of Education.
_____ (2001). Education Statistics Annual Abstract 2000/01, Addis Ababa: MOE
Morgade, G., and G. Bonder (1995). Women, Mathematics and Natural Science, in
R. Clair (ed.) The Scientific Education of Girls: Education beyond
Reproach? Paris: UNESCO.
Robinson, K.H. (1992). Classroom Discipline: Power, Resistance and Gender, A
Look at Teacher Perspective, Gender and Education, 4(3).
Rosser, S.V. (1995). U.S. Women in Science and Feminist Theories, in R. Clair
(ed.). The Scientific Education of Girls: Education Beyond
Reproach? Paris: UNESCO.
Sanders, J. (1985). Making the Computer Reuter, The Computing Teacher, April.
Seyoum Teferra (1986). The Education of Women in Ethiopia: A Missing Piece in
Development Puzzle, The Ethiopian Journal of Education, 10 (1).
TGE (1994a). Education and Training Policy, Addis Ababa: EMPDA.
_____ (1994b). Education Sector Strategy, Addis Ababa: EMPDA.
Tilaye Kassahun (1997) Gender-specific Investigation into the Problem of High
School Dropouts in the Amhara Region, Unpublished Masters Thesis,
Addis Ababa University.
UNESCO (1966). An Asian Model of Educational Development Perspectives for
1965-80, Paris: UNESCO.
_____ (1984). Wastage in Primary Education 1970-1980, Prospectus, 14(3).
_____ (2004). World Education Indicators, Paris: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Published
2004-12-01
Section
Articles